Automatic doughnut former



June 10, 1952 J ROTH AUTOMATIC DOUGHNUT FORMER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 20, 1947 I m m 3? Q 8 mm om E an mm 8w Y 8 o m2 8 an m Q w W m QM H m3 mm W Q aw mm Q! E h g n 8 ow 8 S m 3 on \|l|||l I q I June 10, 1952 ROTH AUTOMATIC DOUGHNUT FORMER 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 20, 1947 MU omw wmw wmw wmv INVENTOR EPnesiJROZ'h June 10, 1952 E. J. ROTH AUTOMATIC DOUGHNUT FORMER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. 20, 1947 LEI- 7.

INVENTOR Efinesz J Roih ATT RNEY Patented June 10, 1952 AUTG MATIG DOUGHNUT FORMER Ernest J. Roth, Ro'ckleigh, N. 3., assignor to Joe Lowe Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application November 20, 1947, Serial 'No. 7875087 3 Claims. (Cl. 107*1'4) The present invention relates generally to an automatic doughnut former, and it has particular relation to a former of the vacuum-pressure type.

An object of the present invention is to provide a small, compact and low capacity doughnut former which is simple, efiicient and relatively inexpensive to construct-and-operate.

Another object of the invention is thepro vision of a vacuum-pressure type of extruder or former which is operable from the driving mechanism of the cooking apparatus with which the same is to be associated in timed sequences.

A further object of the invention i to provide suitable simple, eflicient and inexpensive means for preventing the raw dough from being drawn into the vacuum lines beyond the dough hopper in the event the former is permitted to operate over an extended period of time in an idle condition, i. e., with no dough forms being extruded.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a four-way control valve for controlling the vacuum andpressure to the dough hopper.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple, efiicient and inexpensive driving mechanism for operating the doughnut former in proper timed sequence with a conveyor operating through a dough cooking vessel or tank.

Various other and further objects and advan tages of the invention, which result in simplicity, economy and efliciency, will be apparent from the following detailed description, wherein a preferred form of embodiment of the invention is shown, reference being had for illustrative purposes to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals indicate like parts, in which:

Figure l is a fragmentary transverse vertical sectional view of 'a doughnut cooking machine, said view being reversed endfor-end and show ing a doughnut former mounted in operative association therewith, in which the cutting die is shown in a closed position;

Figure 2 is a similar fragmentary vertical-sectlonal view of the doughnut cooking machine shown in Figure 1, in which the cutting die of the doughnut former is shown in its open or ex on a slightly larger scale, of the operating mechanism and piping for the vacuum-pressure system of the machine; 4

Figure 5 is a fragmentarydiagrammatic view Referring now to the drawings, and particular-' 1;? t0 Fi'g'lil li'l s 1 and 2 thereof, there is Shown a hopper 10, having integrally formed side flanges I! for mountin the sup orting structure HI o'f'a conventional cooking vessel or tank It. The hopper 10 has an axially mounted dispensing chamber 18, which is provided adjacent its top ehd with an ihiiii lally threaded lateral opening 20 v for receiving a vacuum-pressure pipe 2, which, in turn, is connected through -suitable fittings 2'4 to a flexible hose 26, having a conven tional valve 28 mounted on its op osite end for cutting off the air and vacuum whenever the machine is being idled for any length of time. When the former is idling, e., operating without cutting and discharging dough forms, the dough in the hopper l0 to be drawn upwardly into the chamber It and into the mm 2 2 orthe.

vacuuin pressure system, thereby eventually clogging the same. To prevent icl'oggi ng of the line 22-, there is mounted slidably within the chamber 18 a gravity piston 30 A fixed conventional split piston ring 31 is mounted within the chamber [8 in a recess 19 adjacent its lower end to prevent the piston 30 from dropping out when the chamber I8 is removed from the hopper 10 for cleaning purposes. The piston 30 is of such size and shape as to be slidable freely in the chamber I8, and is provided with a series of verticaliy spaced 'circumferentially extending slots or grooves 32. It does not completely seal oif the lower end of the chamber l8 when it gravi= tates downwardly to the position shown in Figure '1, but it is so designed as to seal oh the pipe line 22 when the same is carried upwardly by the' rising dough drawn thereinto, thereby preventing the dough from being drawn into the ipe line 22 on the vacuum stroke of the system, when the piston 30 is forced into sealing posi= tion over the inlet opening 20 at the top of the chamber 18 by rising with the dough, the airressure in the line 22 will tend to increaseandeventually blow the piston downwardly, thereby forcing all of the dough out of the chamber 18 back into the hopper I 0. This cycle of operation 3 will repeat itself indefinitely without permitting the dough to close the line 22 and thereby causing the machine to be shut down for an indefinite period of time while the same is dismantled for cleaning purposes.

The dough chamber I9 has a sleeve 34 mounted in axial alignment therewith contiguous to its lower end, which sleeve 34 extends downwardly through and beyond the bottom of the hopper Ill. The contiguous ends of the chamber I8 and the sleeve 34 are fastened by means of a spider 36 mounted fixedly within the hopper I9. The spider 36 has an internally threaded collar 31 into which the upper end of the sleeve 34 is screw-threaded. It will be obvious that, in this arrangement, the sleeve 34 is mounted removably within the hopper I9 and can be withdrawn readily for cleaning purposes. The sleeve 34 has a series of dough ports 35 opening into the lower end of the hopper I9, which permits passage of the dough from the hopper I9 into the sleeve 34.

The lower end of the sleeve 34 is beveled outwardly, and an axial sleeve cutter 38 is mounted slidably thereon. A forming or cutting disc 49 is mounted in spaced relation relative to the open end of the sleeve 34 by means of a central stem 42, which is secured in the hub of a spider 44. The sleeve cutter 38 includes an annular channel 46 within which pin 48, forming a part of a lever arm 59, is inserted for imparting axial sliding movement to said sleeve cutter 38 under control of said lever arm 59. The hopper I9 and chamber I8 may be formed of any relatively light and soft non-tarnishing metal, such as aluminum.

The inner sleeve 34 may be made of cast iron, but

the sleeve cutter 38 should be made of steel. A flanged collar 52 is mounted by bolts 54 to the bottom of the hopper I9 to provide a suitable channel guide for the sleeve cutter 38. The collar 52 has a sealing ring 56 embedded in its axial opening to prevent leakage of the dough from the hopper I9 as the sleeve cutter 38 is actuated therein. The lever arm 59 is fulcrumed on a shaft 58, and has its outer end connected pivotally, as indicated at 69, to aconnecting rod 62, which passes downwardly through the topof the frying tank 64 to connect pivotally, as indicated at 66, to a rocker arm 68. The opposite end of the rocker arm 68 is keyed to a rocker shaft I9, which is mounted in suitably spaced bearing supports II, and has a cam lever I2 keyed to its other end, as indicated at I3. The free end of the cam lever I2 is, in turn, fixedly secured to a cam follower I4 operating in the track I6 of an eccentric track cam 11. The track cam I1 is keyed to a shaft I8 of a conventional reduction ear I9.

A removable cover 89, having a recessed handle 82, is adapted to fit over the open top of the hopper I9, as best shown in Figures 1 and 2, closing and sealing the same from the atmosphere.

The operating or driving mechanism for the dough former is best understood by considering Figures 1, 2 and 3. Referring first to Figure 3, the unit consists essentially of an electric motor 84 driven from a suitable source of electrical energy (not shown). The motor 84 is provided with a conventional variable speed grooved driving pulley 86, which is adjustable in a well known manner by means of an adjustment wheel 88. The driving pulley 86 of the motor 84 is coupled to a grooved pulley 99 of a conventional vacuumpressure pump 92 and also to a grooved pulley 94 of, a conventional reduction gear box I9 by means of a driving belt 96. The grooved pulley 94 is mounted fixedly on a shaft 98 0f the reduction gear box I9. The reduction gear box I9 also has a driving shaft I8 provided with the keyed driving track cam 11, which operates the cam follower I4 and through the crank arm I2, rocker shaft I9, rocker arm 68, connecting rod 62 and lever 59 actuates the cutter sleeve 38.

The pneumatic system is best shown diagrammatically in Figure l. The input or vacuum side I92 of the pump 92 is connected by a pipe I94 with a vacuum inlet port I95 of an alternating four-way valve II6. An oil drip cup I96 supplies sufficient oil to the pump 92 to lubricate the rotor vanes I98. A hand valve I I9 is mounted in the pipe line I94 between the open ended perforated intake II2 and the pipe leading into the input or vacuum side of the pump 92. The degree of vacuum created in the pipe line I94 is controlled by the valve II9, which permits incoming air to by-pass the input or vacuum side I92 of the pump 92 to permit regulation of the vacuum so that the plastic dough will not be drawn readily into the vacuum system. The vacuum line I94 leads from the input side I92 of the pump 92 to the vacuum inlet port I95 of the alternating valve H6. The pressure side III of the pump 92 is connected by means of a pipe I I8 to the pressure inlet port I46 of the four-way valve I I6, and has a pressure regulating valve I29 mounted therein. The valve I29 is provided with an exhaust port I22, and is regulated through a flexible cable I24 by means of a regulating knob I26.

The common vacuum-pressure port I42 of the alternating valve H6, shown best diagrammatically in Figure 4, is connected by the pipe I34 to a conventional oil trap I36, which is, in turn, connected by the pipe line I45, and through it, the valve 28 and the hose 26 to the hopper I9. The oil trap I36 prevents oil from passing from the pump 92 through the vacuum-pressure delivery pipe I 34 to the pipe line I45. Any oil entering the oil trap I36 is trapped by the bailie plate I38, and falls to the bottom thereof. The oil that collects in the bottom of the oil trap I36 may be drained therefrom by manually opening the drain cock I49. The alternating valve I I6 is shown diagrammatically in Figure 4 with its alternator or vane I59 in its pressure stroke position. When the vane I59 is in its vacuum stroke position, which is the dotted line position shown in Figure 6, its ports I42 and I95 are in open communication with each other. A compound vacuum-pressure gauge I52 indicates all changes of pressure above or below atmospheric in the common vacuumpressure pipe line I 45. The four-way valve II6 is provided with an open bottom outlet or exhaust port I54, which prevents the building up of any back pressure in the system during the pressure periods of the operating cycle.

The alternating four-way valve I I6 is operated from the reduction gear box I9 by means of a cam lug I69, as best shown in Figure 5. The cam lug IE9 is formed integrally with the track cam 11 on its inner face adjacent the reduction gear box 19. An H-shaped valve shifter I6I is adapted to be associated operatively with the cam lug I69, and is provided with an adjustable link I62 for connecting with a horizontally mounted rack bar I63 (see Fig. 5), The valve shifter I 6! is provided with an elongated aperture I64 to provide operating clearance for the drive shaft I8. A hearing support I65 serves to hold the link arm I62 and rack bar I63 in a horizontal plane.

The teethlifi of the rack bar I63aare associated operatively with a rack wheeler pinion 61, which in turn is keyed to a'shaft I68 of the four-way alternating valve H6. The reciprocating motion of the valve shifter Iilisimriarted to the rack b r r l s h pinion fi to rotate-with. back or forth motion through aforty-iive degree arc. thus causing the shaft 1.68 to oscillate, thereby moving alternator I50" of the valve H6 so as to alternately open and close the vacuum and pressure ports I05 and I46, respectively.v The port I54 ofthe four-way valve H6 being iopen atilall times. to the atmosphere prevents" the building-up of any back pressure in the system when-the vacuum .side of thepump .92 is 1' in operation.

The operation of the former is as follows: At the beginning of the operating cycle (see Fig. l) the sleeve cutter 38 has been moved to its downward limit of movement by the rocking action of the lever arm 50, which has been actuated by the connecting arm 62, rocker arm 68, rocker shaft 10, crank arm 12, and cam follower 14, which at that time occupies the eccentric or indented portion of the track cam 11 shown in Figure 1. The cam lug I60 is in contact with that portion of the valve shifter I6I shown in Figure 5, thus unsealing the valve port I46 and connecting the vacuum side of the pump H6 through the pipe lines I04, I34 and 145 to the dough chamber III, which reduces the air pressure in the chamber I8 below atmospheric pressure. Due to the diiierence in pressure, the dough in the hopper I6 is drawn downwardly through the ports 35 into the lower part of the sleeve 34.

When the cam follower 74 is in the position shown in Figure 2, the sleeve cutter 38 has been moved upwardly to its upper limit of movement by the rocking action of the lever arm 50. In this position a quantity of dough in the form of a ring is forced out under pressure between the lower edge of the sleeve cutter 38 and the disc 40. The next downward movement of the cutter 38 severs the extruded dough portion (not shown) in a well known manner, forming a doughnut ring ready to be fried. When the dough i being extruded, the dough hopper Iii is obviously under pressure above atmospheric, and the four-way alternating valve H6 is in its full line position shown in Figure 6, with its pressure port I46 connected with the port I42. In this position, the vacuum port I02 is connected directly with the exhaust port I54, thereby preventing any back pressure being built-up in the system.

In the manufacture of doughnut forms, it is exceedingly difiicult at times to regulate the amount of soft plastic dough taken into the cutting sleeve 36 with the amount of dough being extruded with each operation in the form of a raw dough ring. It is always better to take in a little more dough than is being extruded so as to insure the cutting of a full sized ring at all times. Manifestly, if the dough in the sleeve 34 tends to increase with each operation, it will eventually tend to rise in the chamber I8 and would tend to flow back into the line 22, thereby clogging the same. To remove any dough drawn into the line 22 requires that the machine be shut down and the line dismantled. The valve 28 is placed in the line I45 where it connects with the hose 26 to permit the line to be shut oil in the event the machine is operated when no forms are being cut by the cutter, thereby preventing any unnecessary build-up of dough in the chamber [8.

The piston 30, which is mounted slidably in the chamber I8, is a protective measure-to prevent the dough from being-taken into the line 22.on

the-vacuum'strokes of the-machine.. It is'moved or carried :unwardly by the rising dough in the chamber 18, and,'when it is forced over the open? ing 20 of. the line 22, it seals off said line from-the chamber It. The pressure stroke will tend to cause the piston 3.6 to be forced downwardly, and will .eventual'lyforce most of the dough. back into theichamber I8 through the; ports-35. The-piston ringji is mounted in the chamber :l8.m =.rely.to

prevent the pistonfrom being lost when the dough hopper-I0, chamber I8'andsleeve 34 aredismantled atthe 'endof the day for cleaning DUI-1".

poses. Thisiring 3i insures that thepiston 36 will not be left out when these: parts are reassembled after cleaning.

Although I have described in detail only one form which the invention may assume, it will be readily understood by those skilled in the art that the same is not to be so limited, but that various modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit thereof or from the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In an extrusion machine having a dough hopper including an inner sleeve defining a dough dispensing chamber having an inlet and an outlet through which the dough may be admitted and discharged, an axial cutter mounted slidably on said sleeve defining a valve for controlling alternately the opening and closing of said inlet, means for operating said cutter, and, in combination therewith, a pneumatic pumping system including a pump having a vacuum port and a pressure port alternately connected with said sleeve, a four-way valve having a pressure port, a vacuum port, an intake port and an exhaust port, a valve shifter, and means for operating said valve shifter whereby when the vacuum port of said pump is connected with said sleeve its pressure port is connected with said valve exhaust port and when the pressure port of said pump is connected with said sleeve its vacuum port is connected with said valve exhaust port.

2. In an extrusion machine having a dough hopper including an inner sleeve defining a dough dispensing chamber having an inlet and an outlet through which dough may be admitted and discharged, an axial cutter mounted slidably in said sleeve defining a valve for controlling alternately the opening and closing of said inlet, mean for operating said cutter, and, in combination therewith, a pneumatic pumping system including a pump having a vacuum port and a pressure port alternately connected with said sleeve, a four-way valve having a pressure port, a vacuum port, an intake port and an exhaust port, a valve shifter, means for operating said valve shifter whereby when the vacuum port of said pump is connected to said sleeve its pressure port is connected with said valve exhaust port and when the pressure port of said pump is connected with said sleeve its vacuum port is connected with said valve exhaust port, and means mounted within said sleeve above said dough inlet for preventing the passage of dough into the vacuum connection.

3. In an extrusion machine having a dough hopper including an inner sleeve defining a dough dispensing chamber having an inlet and an outlet through which dough may be admitted and discharged, an axial cutter mounted slidably in said sleeve defining a valve for controlling alternately the opening and closing of said inlet, means 7 for operating said cutter, and, in combination therewith, a pneumatic pumping system including a pump having a vacuum port and a pressure port alternately connected through a pipe line with said sleeve, a four-way valve having a pressure port, a vacuum port, an intake port and an exhaust port, a valve shifter, means for operating said valve shifter whereby when the vacuum port of said pump is connected to said sleeve its pressure port is connected with said valve exhaust port and when the pressure port of said pump is connected with said sleeve its vacuum port is connected with said valve exhaust port, and means including a freely slidable piston mounted in said sleeve above said inlet operable by the pressure in said connecting line when the dough has carried the same upwardly and caused a 'seal-' ing off of said line by said piston. i ERNEST J. ROTH.

. REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATEN'IS Name Date Ellis Apr. 21,1943 

